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Dear Friends,
Tomorrow we celebrate Independence Day. First, I want to wish y’all a happy and safe July 4th! Secondly, in honor of this national holiday, I’d like to share a prayer by the former editor of the Presbyterian Outlook, the Rev. Dr. Jill Duffield, wrote a few years ago, “Prayer for the Fourth of July.” -Pastor Bart
God of all tribes and every nation, on this day of cookouts and fireworks, parades and pool parties, we pause to remember the best of our nation’s aspirations and values.
We give thanks for those who made great sacrifices for the sake of the principles of equality and liberty, life and the pursuit of happiness.
We lament the many ways and countless times that we have fallen short of the hopes of not only the founders of this nation, but of you, Lord of all. Forgive us for not fulfilling the great aims this country sought to represent to the world. Send your Spirit to help us become the country you call us to be.
When we rest and play, eat and celebrate today, do not let us forget those unable to do likewise. Inspire in us a zeal for the equality in which you create all people, a passion to seek abundant life for all people, a relentless drive to provide liberty for all people, and a pursuit of happiness, not only for ourselves and those like us, but for all people. May our country truly be a refuge for the tired, the poor, and those yearning to be free — free from fear, free from poverty, free from oppression, free from exploitation, free from violence, free from war, free from suffering and hopelessness.
May our nation truly be a place of justice, tranquility and welfare for all people. Amen.
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